The leakages on the roof of Suvarnabhumi Airport’s terminal building to be completely repared by next week
The Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) has accelerated the repair of the terminal building’s roof in Suvarnabhumi Airport as the leakages on the roof are causing rainwater to enter the building. AOT President Chotisak Asapaviriya (?????????? ??????????) has insisted that the repair of the roof is the first priority, while anticipating that the task will be fully completed within next week.
Suvarnabhumi Airport has officially opened for commercial services early this morning at 3 AM. Mr. Chotisak said he is satisfied with the overall operation in the new airport, notwithstanding the minor problem of the baggage conveyor system. The problem and the heavy downpour last night caused the first commercial flight of Suvarnabhumi Airport to delay for over 40 minutes. Nevertheless, the AOT will issue a document to clarify the problems. As for the problems of insufficient restrooms in the airport, the AOT is preparing to build more restrooms near the parking lot and in two terminal buildings.
As for the ground services, the AOT President said all equipments from Don Muang Airport have been transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport, adding that the AOT is ready to provide the best services for all passengers.
Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 September 2006
Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.
Moderator: Latest news team
CDR Deputy Chief Chalit checked the readiness of Suvarnabhumi Airport
The Deputy Chief of the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR), Air Chief Marshal Chalit Pookpasuk (???? ????????), inspected the readiness of services in Suvarnabhumi Airport, while admitting that some passengers had encountered inconvenience during the first six hours of the airport’s opening. However, he said that the inconvenience was deemed usual for a new airport.
This morning, the baggage conveyor system of Suvarnabhumi Airport experienced a minor problem, causing a flight delay to passengers of flight TG 316 who travelled from New Delhi, India. Nevertheless, ACM Chalit already assigned the authority to repair the system.
In the meantime, Cathay Pacific Airways has announced its readiness to operate in Suvarnabhumi Airport. Cathay Pacific handed certificates to all passengers of its first flight at the new airport.
Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 September 2006
The Deputy Chief of the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR), Air Chief Marshal Chalit Pookpasuk (???? ????????), inspected the readiness of services in Suvarnabhumi Airport, while admitting that some passengers had encountered inconvenience during the first six hours of the airport’s opening. However, he said that the inconvenience was deemed usual for a new airport.
This morning, the baggage conveyor system of Suvarnabhumi Airport experienced a minor problem, causing a flight delay to passengers of flight TG 316 who travelled from New Delhi, India. Nevertheless, ACM Chalit already assigned the authority to repair the system.
In the meantime, Cathay Pacific Airways has announced its readiness to operate in Suvarnabhumi Airport. Cathay Pacific handed certificates to all passengers of its first flight at the new airport.
Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 September 2006
Minor hiccup on first day at Suvarnabhumi Airport
BANGKOK: -- The first full day of operations of Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport kicked off Thursday morning with little fanfare, but the first passengers experienced a minor glitch caused by delays in collecting passenger baggage.
The futuristic US$4 billion airport which boasts the world's largest passenger terminal, the world's largest hangar, and world's tallest control tower--at 132.2 metres higher than Kuala Lumpur International Airport's tower by 10 metres--officially opened on schedule.
However, passengers on the first commercial flight landing at Suvarnabhumi -- Aeroswit flight VV 171 from Ukrane's Kiev with 206 passengers-- had to wait more than one hour to collect their baggage from the new automated baggage handling machines.
Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of Airports of Thailand (AoT) explained that the delay had nothing to do with the airport's baggage handling machines.
"It's only a minor glitch," he said, "the delay was caused by ground equipment transportation of Thai Airways International (THAI) from Bangkok International Airport (Don Muang) to Suvarnabhumi."
The full transfer of passenger flights and other commercial aviation responsibilities from Don Muang, which has served travellers for nine decades, to the new airport was completed at 3am Thursday (2000 GMT Wednesday).
Thailand's military assigned 800 troops to the airport to ensure safety. Several army canine units have been deployed at the single passenger terminal to inspect suspicious packages.
Suvarnabumi, about 25 kilometres east of Bangkok, is capable of handling 76 flights per hour and services 90 airlines.
The airport will initially serve 45 million passengers annually, with capacity expected to more than double once it becomes fully operational.
--TNA 2006-09-28
BANGKOK: -- The first full day of operations of Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport kicked off Thursday morning with little fanfare, but the first passengers experienced a minor glitch caused by delays in collecting passenger baggage.
The futuristic US$4 billion airport which boasts the world's largest passenger terminal, the world's largest hangar, and world's tallest control tower--at 132.2 metres higher than Kuala Lumpur International Airport's tower by 10 metres--officially opened on schedule.
However, passengers on the first commercial flight landing at Suvarnabhumi -- Aeroswit flight VV 171 from Ukrane's Kiev with 206 passengers-- had to wait more than one hour to collect their baggage from the new automated baggage handling machines.
Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of Airports of Thailand (AoT) explained that the delay had nothing to do with the airport's baggage handling machines.
"It's only a minor glitch," he said, "the delay was caused by ground equipment transportation of Thai Airways International (THAI) from Bangkok International Airport (Don Muang) to Suvarnabhumi."
The full transfer of passenger flights and other commercial aviation responsibilities from Don Muang, which has served travellers for nine decades, to the new airport was completed at 3am Thursday (2000 GMT Wednesday).
Thailand's military assigned 800 troops to the airport to ensure safety. Several army canine units have been deployed at the single passenger terminal to inspect suspicious packages.
Suvarnabumi, about 25 kilometres east of Bangkok, is capable of handling 76 flights per hour and services 90 airlines.
The airport will initially serve 45 million passengers annually, with capacity expected to more than double once it becomes fully operational.
--TNA 2006-09-28
The atmostphere at Don Muang Airport this morning is not lively as usual
The atmosphere in Don Muang Airport is very quiet today after the authorities have relocated all equipments to Suvarnabhumi Airport. Passengers are no longer travelling to Don Muang Airport as it has officially ended its 92-year operation.
Last night, university students, officials, press members and members of the public gathered at Don Muang Airport to take part in an important historical day of the country. They came to take photos and wrote farewell messages to the country’s oldest airport. All messages will be posted on the farewell boards of Thai Airways.
At 3:10 hours, Don Muang Airport started to switch off the lights along its runway, and eventually ended its operation. The only activity was the transfer of equipments to the new airport. The heavy rain last night caused some difficulties on the transfer of equipments, and it could not complete the task before 5:00 hours. However, it is expected to finish today.
An exhibition will be organized at the 1st and 2nd terminal buildings of Don Muang Airport, and officials have been dispatched to secure the areas.
Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 September 2006
The atmosphere in Don Muang Airport is very quiet today after the authorities have relocated all equipments to Suvarnabhumi Airport. Passengers are no longer travelling to Don Muang Airport as it has officially ended its 92-year operation.
Last night, university students, officials, press members and members of the public gathered at Don Muang Airport to take part in an important historical day of the country. They came to take photos and wrote farewell messages to the country’s oldest airport. All messages will be posted on the farewell boards of Thai Airways.
At 3:10 hours, Don Muang Airport started to switch off the lights along its runway, and eventually ended its operation. The only activity was the transfer of equipments to the new airport. The heavy rain last night caused some difficulties on the transfer of equipments, and it could not complete the task before 5:00 hours. However, it is expected to finish today.
An exhibition will be organized at the 1st and 2nd terminal buildings of Don Muang Airport, and officials have been dispatched to secure the areas.
Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 September 2006
Update:
SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT OPENS
Touch down...into chaos
Lost baggage, crashed computer check-in systems, shouting passengers - AOT calls opening day a '75% success'
SUVARNABHUMI: -- It took the Korean visitors three hours to get their luggage, and they left no one in doubt as to their displeasure. A computer system crash forced staff into the unfamiliar role of manually checking-in passengers. Then more bags were lost and a scrum formed around the "Lost and Found" office. Flights were delayed time and again. Snafu was the order of the day.
Utter chaos for Suvarnabhumi's opening? Definitely not, say the airport's spin doctors.
Officials and system consultants shrugged off the teething problems and expressed complete confidence that Suvarnabhumi Airport would soon be free of "hiccups".
"We are 75 per cent satisfied," Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of Airports of Thailand Plc, said yesterday. "There were some minor problems that have upset us."
At 11am, the centralised check-in system crashed, first paralysing 11 counters of Thai Airways International and later spreading to 13 counters of Nok Air and some international airlines.
Ground staff resorted to using computer notebooks and filling out boarding passes by hand.
According to reports, many passengers on a variety of flights waited for at least two hours to get their luggage. Over 100 visitors from Incheon, arriving on flight OX301, vented their anger at Thai Airways International's counters. They shouted at THAI ground agents when three hours passed and still their luggage had not appeared.
Passengers on other flights encountered similar problems. Those on TG343 from Jakarta also waited for three hours. TG 917 from London landed at 3pm and the designated carousel was empty until 5pm. To the dismay of first-class passengers, they retrieved their belongings at the same time as economy-class travellers.
"The Lost and Found counter was flooded with complaints," said a ground officer who asked not to be named.
"Passengers of airlines including THAI and Aerosvit Airlines faced the same problem," said one AOT official.
Air Chief Marshall Chalit Pukbhasuk, chairman of the Council for Democratic Reform's committee in charge of the airport opening, visited the facility at 7am. He acknowledged the foul ups but said all units were attacking the mishaps one by one.
"Problems are common for the first operating hour of a new airport. We should know better later on," he told a swarm of reporters.
AOT's Chotisak said it took time for ground crews to transfer bags from planes to conveyer belts due to the delay in the relocation of baggage handling equipment from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. THAI supplies the AOT with the baggage-handling equipment.
A fierce overnight storm had thrown THAI's schedule for its migration programme completely out of whack. As of 7am, only 80 per cent of the removal was complete.
"The conveyor system functioned well, but there was a problem transferring luggage from the aircraft to the conveyor belts because baggage lorries had not arrived [from Don Muang]," Chotisak said. "This is a minor problem and will not happen again once the transition period is over."
About 200 suitcases were also found left behind at the airport after some THAI flights took off for domestic and international destinations.
THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni was sure that his airline's system functioned well, but the problem could lie with the baggage handling system, which is under AOT's supervision.
"We are contacting the bag owners to send them their belongings. This is a big blunder happening at THAI," he said.
Somchai Swasdipol, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said AOT is investigating the matter. The bungling could have arisen from the slow transfer of luggage rather than any trouble with the actual baggage handling system, he said.
The botched baggage handling was partially attributable to flights arriving late. About 17 flights were overdue, 45 minutes in the worst case. Most departing passengers anticipated the delay and arrived at the airport well in advance.
The first commercial flight to alight at Suvarnabhumi was also 20 minutes behind schedule. Flying from Kiev, the Aerosvit Airlines plane landed at 4.30am, instead of the original time of 4.10am. It landed at the same time as an EVA Airways flight from Amsterdam.
"Aerosvit's flight was delayed at the originating port, not because of technical problems at Suvarnabhumi," the AOT official said.
Upon arrival, the first passengers received commemorative souvenirs from AOT chairman Srisook Chandrangsu and his management team, who waited in front of Gate E4. One of the passengers was a local from Udon Thani who was unaware that his plane would put down at the new airport.
"I'm confused. Don Muang is more familiar to me as I don't know the traffic network of Suvarnabhumi," he said.
Aerosvit Airlines also operated the first flight from Suvarnabhumi. Bound for Kiev, it left at 5.40am. It took four minutes for each passenger to check in, instead of the normal two minutes at Don Muang, as staff needed time to get used to the new IT system.
Cathay Pacific also operated a flight from Hong Kong, but with only a 55-per-cent load factor rather than the usual 80 per cent.
"Passengers were worried about convenience on the first day of operations," said Yongyut Lujintanont, marketing manager for Thailand and Burma. The cabin factor should return to normal today, he said.
The chaotic environment on the first day also dulled the appetite for shopping among passengers. Most of the visitors concentrated on checking out the airport's amenities. Some of the duty free shops were still being fitted out and were not open yet.
A manager for King Power Duty Free Shop said total sales on the first day were only Bt3,000-Bt4,000, less than 10 per cent of what the company used to ring up at Don Muang. However, she was optimistic that more customers would come later.
-- The Nation 2006-09-29
SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT OPENS
Touch down...into chaos
Lost baggage, crashed computer check-in systems, shouting passengers - AOT calls opening day a '75% success'
SUVARNABHUMI: -- It took the Korean visitors three hours to get their luggage, and they left no one in doubt as to their displeasure. A computer system crash forced staff into the unfamiliar role of manually checking-in passengers. Then more bags were lost and a scrum formed around the "Lost and Found" office. Flights were delayed time and again. Snafu was the order of the day.
Utter chaos for Suvarnabhumi's opening? Definitely not, say the airport's spin doctors.
Officials and system consultants shrugged off the teething problems and expressed complete confidence that Suvarnabhumi Airport would soon be free of "hiccups".
"We are 75 per cent satisfied," Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of Airports of Thailand Plc, said yesterday. "There were some minor problems that have upset us."
At 11am, the centralised check-in system crashed, first paralysing 11 counters of Thai Airways International and later spreading to 13 counters of Nok Air and some international airlines.
Ground staff resorted to using computer notebooks and filling out boarding passes by hand.
According to reports, many passengers on a variety of flights waited for at least two hours to get their luggage. Over 100 visitors from Incheon, arriving on flight OX301, vented their anger at Thai Airways International's counters. They shouted at THAI ground agents when three hours passed and still their luggage had not appeared.
Passengers on other flights encountered similar problems. Those on TG343 from Jakarta also waited for three hours. TG 917 from London landed at 3pm and the designated carousel was empty until 5pm. To the dismay of first-class passengers, they retrieved their belongings at the same time as economy-class travellers.
"The Lost and Found counter was flooded with complaints," said a ground officer who asked not to be named.
"Passengers of airlines including THAI and Aerosvit Airlines faced the same problem," said one AOT official.
Air Chief Marshall Chalit Pukbhasuk, chairman of the Council for Democratic Reform's committee in charge of the airport opening, visited the facility at 7am. He acknowledged the foul ups but said all units were attacking the mishaps one by one.
"Problems are common for the first operating hour of a new airport. We should know better later on," he told a swarm of reporters.
AOT's Chotisak said it took time for ground crews to transfer bags from planes to conveyer belts due to the delay in the relocation of baggage handling equipment from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi. THAI supplies the AOT with the baggage-handling equipment.
A fierce overnight storm had thrown THAI's schedule for its migration programme completely out of whack. As of 7am, only 80 per cent of the removal was complete.
"The conveyor system functioned well, but there was a problem transferring luggage from the aircraft to the conveyor belts because baggage lorries had not arrived [from Don Muang]," Chotisak said. "This is a minor problem and will not happen again once the transition period is over."
About 200 suitcases were also found left behind at the airport after some THAI flights took off for domestic and international destinations.
THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni was sure that his airline's system functioned well, but the problem could lie with the baggage handling system, which is under AOT's supervision.
"We are contacting the bag owners to send them their belongings. This is a big blunder happening at THAI," he said.
Somchai Swasdipol, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said AOT is investigating the matter. The bungling could have arisen from the slow transfer of luggage rather than any trouble with the actual baggage handling system, he said.
The botched baggage handling was partially attributable to flights arriving late. About 17 flights were overdue, 45 minutes in the worst case. Most departing passengers anticipated the delay and arrived at the airport well in advance.
The first commercial flight to alight at Suvarnabhumi was also 20 minutes behind schedule. Flying from Kiev, the Aerosvit Airlines plane landed at 4.30am, instead of the original time of 4.10am. It landed at the same time as an EVA Airways flight from Amsterdam.
"Aerosvit's flight was delayed at the originating port, not because of technical problems at Suvarnabhumi," the AOT official said.
Upon arrival, the first passengers received commemorative souvenirs from AOT chairman Srisook Chandrangsu and his management team, who waited in front of Gate E4. One of the passengers was a local from Udon Thani who was unaware that his plane would put down at the new airport.
"I'm confused. Don Muang is more familiar to me as I don't know the traffic network of Suvarnabhumi," he said.
Aerosvit Airlines also operated the first flight from Suvarnabhumi. Bound for Kiev, it left at 5.40am. It took four minutes for each passenger to check in, instead of the normal two minutes at Don Muang, as staff needed time to get used to the new IT system.
Cathay Pacific also operated a flight from Hong Kong, but with only a 55-per-cent load factor rather than the usual 80 per cent.
"Passengers were worried about convenience on the first day of operations," said Yongyut Lujintanont, marketing manager for Thailand and Burma. The cabin factor should return to normal today, he said.
The chaotic environment on the first day also dulled the appetite for shopping among passengers. Most of the visitors concentrated on checking out the airport's amenities. Some of the duty free shops were still being fitted out and were not open yet.
A manager for King Power Duty Free Shop said total sales on the first day were only Bt3,000-Bt4,000, less than 10 per cent of what the company used to ring up at Don Muang. However, she was optimistic that more customers would come later.
-- The Nation 2006-09-29